Strand winding apparatus



June 26, 1934- E. E. NEWTON ET'AL STRAND WINDING APPARATUS Filed June 3, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet l June 26, 1934. E. E. NEWTON ET AL STRAND WINDING APPARATUS Filed June 3, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 June 26, 1934. E. E. NEWTON El AL STRAND WINDING APPARATUS Filed June 3, 1929 Patented June 26, 1934 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE STRAND WINDING APPARATUS rated, New York, N. York Y., a corporation of New Application June 3,1929, Serial nmesasse 10 Claims. (01. 242-) This invention relates to strand winding apparatus, and more particularly to a take-up mechanism for a wire drawing machine.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an emcient apparatus accurately and readilv' responsive to variations in strand tension for winding a strand at high speeds uniformly and smoothly without breakage.

In one embodiment of the inventiona wire drawing machine is provided with a take-up mechanism in which the drawn wire passes over a slidable sheave operatively connected to a brake cooperating with an aircooled brake drum which is mounted on a shaft in axial alignment with a driving shaft for a take-up spool. Interposed between the shafts and connected thereto is a differential driven through a train of gears from the power shaft of the wire drawing machine, whereby a variation in the tension of the strand passing over the sheave and through a distributor on its way to the take-up spool is transmitted to and varies the effectiveness of the brake which reacts through the differential to change the speed of the take-up spool. The takeup spool is removably mounted on a drum carried by the driving shaft by a manually operated three-point front and back centering holding device, and the spool is housed within a slidably removable guard having a spout-like portion for enclosing the distributor and terminating in a narrow slot for admitting the traveling strand.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevational view of a wire drawing machine employing a takeup mechanism embodying the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view thereof with certain portions of the casing broken away to more clearly show the interior portions;

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of the gear trains for driving the various parts of the wire drawing machine and the take-up from the motor shaft;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary end view,

.partly in section, looking toward the left of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary, sectional- Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the guard for the take-up spool taken on line 77 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken on line 88 of Fig. 5.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals have been employed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures, the numeral 15 designates a housing secured to a bed plate 16 which is suitably supported by a plurality of legs 17-'--17. The housing 15 has a wire drawing compartment 18 provided with an opening 19 which is adapted to be closed by a cover 20, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This cover is secured to outwardly extending arms 21-21 keyed to a horizontally disposed rod 22 which is suitably joumaled in upwardly extending portions 2323 of the housing 15. At the 'left hand end of the rod 22 a segmental pinion 24 keyed thereto engages a rack 25, the lower end of which is fastened to a piston 26 within a 'cylinder 27 secured to the top of the bed plate 16. The operation of the cylinder 27 is controlled by a valve 28, whereby upon the turning of a handle 29 positioned at the front of the bed plate 16 and connected to the valve 28, air under pressure is admitted to one side or the other of the piston 26 to reciprocate the rack 25 to thus raise or lower the cover 20.

Positioned medially of the bed plate 16 and secured thereon at the rear of the housing 15 is an electrical motor 35. the driving shaft 36 of which extends within the wire drawing compartment. Stepped capstans 38-39 are mounted on the driving shaft 36, the outer capstan 38 being keyed thereto and the inner capstan 39 being rotatably mounted thereon, but driven by gears 40 to 43, inclusive, (Fig. 3) from the driving shaft 36. To the left of the capstans 38-39 in the wire drawing compartment and suitably journaled within the housing 15 is a shaft 46 on which are mounted three stepped sheaves 47 to 49, inclusive, the outer sheave 47 being keyed to the shaft 46 and the intermediate sheave 48 and inner sheave 49 being rotatably mounted thereon. Secured to the shaft 46 is a gear 50 which is driven through an idler gear 51 meshing with the gear 40 secured to the driving shaft 36.

A die shelf 52 secured to the housing 15 intermediate the capstans 38-39 and sheaves 4'1 to 49, inclusive, is provided with seats 5353 (Fig. 1) at various levels for supporting wire drawing dies 5454, and the faces of the die seats are formed at such angles that the axes of the dies 54 are substantially tangential to the respective companion steps of the capstans and sheaves. The die shelf has a cavity 55 (Fig. 1) which is connected by a pipe 56 to a source of wire drawing compound or lubricant under pressure (not shown) and is controlled by a hand operated valve 5'7. Connecting with the cavity 55 are passageways 58, 59 and 60, the passageway ,58 provided for directing a stream of lubricant into the mouth of each die to lubricate, cool, and wash away any deleterious matter which may tend to collect in the dies, passageway 59 for directing a stream of lubricant onto each step of the capstan to lubricate and cool them, and passageway 60 for directing a stream of lubricant into each groove or step of the sheaves to lubricate and cool them respectively.

On the left hand end of the housing 15 is fastened a bracket 65 (Figs. 1 and 2) carrying a pulley 66 and a light weight tube 67, the upper straight portion'of which is in axial alignment with a stationary supply spool 68 suitably supported in a vertical position. The tube 67 is freely rotatable in the bracket 65, but is provided with a brake drum 69 having a pair of adjustably tensioned brake shoes 70-70 bearing on its periphery. Below the brake drum 69, the tube 67 curves outwardly in a vertical plane, then in an inclined plane, and terminates in a bell mouth 71 immediately beneath the level of the upper head of the supply spool 68 somewhat further from the axis than the largest radius of the spool head, and opening normally to the diameter thereof. The wire from the supply spool 68 is threaded through the bell mouth 71, upwardly through the tube 67 over the pulley 66, through a guide 72 secured to the bracket 65, and thence through an aperture 73 in the left'hand wall of the housing 15 into the wire drawing compartment 18. A small tension on the wire supplied by the capstan 39 will cause the wire to react upon the inside wall of the curved tube 67 and rotate the bell mouth 71 in a circular path about the upper end of the supply spool 68 to unwind the wire without danger of snarling or kinking. Moreover, since the tube 6'7 is constructed of lightweight material, its inertia is so small that a small tension will rapidly accelerate it and a light braking force supplied by the brake 6970 will rapidly decelerate it. Thus, it is very sensitive to the changes in tension applied to the wire. Also, as the supply spool is stationary, the required tension does not change from that used in connection with a full spool to that necessary for one which is nearly empty, as would be true if the supply spool were rotated.

Fastened to the housing 15 at the right end of the wire drawing compartment 18 and in horizontal alignment with the top of the largest step on the outer capstan 38 is an individual die holder 76 (Figs. 1 and 2) for properly positioning a final drawing die 77. To the right of this die holder is an outside capstan 78 for pulling the wire through the final drawing die 77. Capstan 78 is secured to a shaft 79 which is suitably journaled in the housing 15 and is driven from the driving shaft 36 through a train of gears 40, 41, 80, 81, a gear 82 fastened to a shaft 83 carrying the gear 81, and a gear 84 secured to the'rear end of the shaft 79 (Figs. 3 and 5).

The shaft 83 is suitably journaled in brackets 88-89 (Fig. 5) fastened to the housing 15 and carries at its forward end infront of the gear 81 a beveled gear 90 which meshes with another beveled gear 91 secured to a vertical shaft 92 journaled in the housing 15. At the upper end "and left hand threading of the rod 123.

of the vertical shaft 92 is keyed a gear 93 meshing with a gear 94 secured to a vertical shaft 95 which drives a tachometer 96 of any suitable character mounted on the top of the housing 15 for indicating the speed in feet per minute at which the wire is being drawn.

Medially of the vertical shaft 92 is secured a helical gear 100 for driving a helical gear 101 keyed to a horizontal shaft 102 which carries a spur gear 103. Gear 103 meshes with a gear 104 (Fig. 4) which is connected through a safety device 105 to a collar 106 carrying a plunger 107 and rotatably mounted on a bushing 108 supported within a bracket 109 secured to the housing 15. Safety device 105 comprises an adjustable spring pressed pin 110 housed within a bore in the collar 106 and having a rounded end adapted to engage a series of depressions 111 on the right hand side of the gear 104 so as to permit slippage between the gear 104 and the collar 106 if, for any reason, the plunger 107 is subjected to an overload. Reciprocally mount ed within the bushing 108 is a distributing rod 112 having a right and left hand threaded portion 113 engaged by the rotatable plunger 107. When the gear 104 and plunger 107 are rotated, the distributing rod 112 is reciprocat-ed and guided by a block 114 secured thereto and slidably mounted upon a pair of parallel guide pins 115115 supported by the bracket 109 and the housing 15. The forward end of the distributing rod has an adjustable bushing 116 for guiding and'distributing the wire on a take-up spool or reel 120 (Fig. 5).

The take-up spool 120 is supported on a drum 121 secured to a shaft 122 which is suitably journaled in the housing 15. Extending centrally through the drum 121 is a threaded rod 123 supportedwithin threaded sleeves 124124 slidably mounted in spiders 125-125secured to the inner wall of the drum 121. On each of the spiders 125-125 are pivoted three levers 126-126 spaced one hundred and twenty degrees apart and positioned in slots 127 in the sleeves 124-424 threaded on the rod 123. By turning a hand wheel 128 secured to the outer end of the rod 123, in one direction, the sleeves 124124 are moved away from each other due to the right This movement of the sleeves 124124 rocks the levers 126-126 about their pivots, whereby the upper ends of the levers protruding through slots 129 in the drum 121 are caused to engage and hold the interior wall of the drum in the takeup spool 120 to obtain a three-point support at the front end of the spool and also at the rear end thereof so as to accurately center it.

When the outside capstan 78 drawing the wire through the final die 77 is delivering wire at constant linear speed, it is essential that the speed of rotation of the take-up spool 120 be gradually decreased owing to the increasing diameter of the spooled wire upon the spool. This is accomplished, as illustrated in Fig. 5, by journaling a brake drum shaft in the housing 15 in alignment with the axis of the take-up spool shaft 122 and mounting between them and on their common axis a differential 136. Within a crown gear 137 of the differential are housed differential gears 138-139 which mesh with gears 140141 keyed to the shafts 122 and 135. respectively, in such a manner that the crown gear 137 will tend to drive both the shafts 122 and 135 with equal tractive forces, but not necessa ily at the same :speed. 'Actuation of the take-up spool shaft 122 is obtained through the crown gear 137 of the differential 136 meshing with the gear 82 which, as has been previously described, is driven from the driving shaft 36.

The brake drum shaft has mounted on its outer end a brake drum (Figs. 5 and 6) in which are positioned a plurality of fan blades 146-146 for air-cooling the perforated brake drum. Brake shoes 147-148 engaging diametrically opposite .surfaces of the brake drum 145 are pivoted at their lower ends to a plate 149 fastened to the housing 15 and at their upper ends to a T-shaped lever 150 which is held in suspension by coil springs 151-152 tensioned by screws 158-153. The springs 151-152 are adjusted to a desired value of tension and the screws 153-153 are then locked in position by means of wing nuts 154-154. Thus, the upward pull of the spring 152 will increase the pressure of the brake shoes 147-148 on the drum 145 and an upward pull on the spring 151 will decrease the pressure. At the outer end of the left arm of the T lever 150 is fastened a coil spring 155 connected to a cable 156 which passes up through a pair of opposed hollow adjusting screws 157-158 threaded vertically in protruding portions 159 of the housing 15, over and under pulleys 160 (Figs. 5 and 6) and 161 (Fig. 4) rotatably positioned in the housing 15, and is then connected to the lower end of a very resilient coil spring 162. The other end of this spring which is housed within a hollow arm of a bracket 163 bolted to the top of the housing 15, is fastened to another cable 165 which passes over a pulley 166 in the top of the bracket 163 and is then connected to aslidably mounted pulley 167 over which the wire travels on its way to the take-up spool (Fig. 1). The pulley 167 is made of light weight material and is mounted on a slide 168 of similar material which is movable up and down on a pair of suitable guides 170-170 provided with buffer springs 171-171 at each end and secured to the bracket 168.

' From the foregoing description it will be clear that if the tension on the wire traveling to the take-up spool 120 should increase sufliciently to pull the slide 168 and the pulley 167 downwardly, the resultant increased tension on the spring 155 Fig. 6) will raise the left arm of the T lever 150 to spread the brake shoes 147-143 farther apart and thereby reduce the braking force on the drum 145. The reduction of the braking force on the shaft 135 permits it to rotate faster, whereby the speed of rotation of the difierential gears 138-139 and the gear 140 meshing therewith is decreased to decrease the speed of rotation of the shaft 122 and take-up spool 120. Conversely, a decreased tension in the wire traveling over the pulley 167 increases the braking force on the shaft 135 to decrease the speed of the gear 141 keyed thereto, whereby the speed of rotation of the differential gears 138-139 and the gear 140 is increased to increase the rotative speed of the take-up spool 120. Hence, when the tension on the wire varies due to the increasing diameter of the spooled wire, or if the diameter thereof between the spool heads is not uniform so as to necessitate a rapid acceleration or deceleration of the take-up spool, the pulley slide in cooperation with the brake and differential will vary the speed of the take-up spool as the particular condition requires.

The normal tension on the wire between the capstan 78 and the take-up spool 120 is adjusted by means of one or both of the adjustable tension springs 151-152 which are attached to the T-shaped lever 150, and the tension imparted to .the spring 155 can be controlled by clamping a block 174 on the cable 156 between the opposed ends of the hollow adjusting screws 157-158. If these hollow screws are adjusted towards one another in such a manner that should the slide 168 move from one extreme end of the guides 170-170 to the other, the block 174 abuts one or the other, or both, of the screws 157-158, the range of tension in the spring 155 will not be as great as the range of tension in the spring 162, and hence the variation of the braking force can be held within desirable limits to control the speed of the take-up spool 120. If the hollow screws are adjusted to clamp the block between them, the slide may be moved from one extreme to the other on the guides 170-170 without effecting a change in the speed of the take-up spool. Thus, if any irregularities in the spooling of the wire causes the pulley slide to surge excessively up and down and thereby cause a surging of the braking force to efiect a surging of the speed of the take-up spool, the surging can be eliminated by adjusting the hollow screws 157-158 so that the block 174 clamped on the cable 156 will have its movement restricted to limit the braking force and the variations in speed of the take-up spool.

In the winding of wire on the take-up spool at high speeds, the wire may break due to some abnormal condition, and unless the free end of the rotating wire is drawn within a guard for the take-up spool 120 the wire end may be whipped or portions broken therefrom and thrown at high velocity, thus constituting a. source of danger to the operator. To obviate this danger, a guard 175 (Figs. 1, 5 and 7) is provided, comprising a substantially cylindrical member 176 having an upwardly extending spout-like portion 177 terminating in a narrow opening for admitting the wire, which portion encloses the outer end of the reciprocating, distributing rod 112 and the guide bushing 116 used in distributing the finished wire on the take-up spool 120. The cylindrical member 176 has secured to its periphery a sleeve 178 adapted to be slidably supported on a rod 180 extending from the face of the housing 15 adjacent the take-up spool.

A pin 179 secured to the cylindrical member 176 (Fig. 7) at a position diametrically opposite the sleeve 178 is much longer than the cylindrical member and slides in a bore 181 (Fig. 5)

in the housing 15 so that when the guard 175 is 1 pulled outwardly by means of a knob 184 on the outer enclosed end thereof to clear the take-up spool, the guard may be rotated through 180 and suspended from the lower rod 181 to permit the easy removal of the take-up spool. Keyed to the pin 179 near its inner extremity is a block 185 which is adapted to engage the face of a bearing 186 secured to the housing 15 to limit the outward movement of the pin 179 and the cylindrical member 176. Adjacent the bearing 186 is a depending stud 187 (Figs. 1, 5 and 8) which is secured to the wall of the bore 181 and so positioned that it engages the block 185 only when the sleeve 178 is in alignment with the rod 180. The foregoing construction facilitates the replacing of the guard since the operator merely rotates the cylindrical member 176 until the block 185 engages the stud 187 whereby the sleeve is aligned with the rod 180 and an inward movement thereof properly positions the guard around the take-up spool.

As a further safeguard, a guard panel 190 is secured to the right hand end of the housing 15 so that it extends above the slide 168 and below the spout-like portion 177 of the guard 175 for the take-up spool 120, as illustrated in Fig. 1. This panel protects the operator from injury when the free end of a moving wire passes over the pulley 167 on the slide 168.

In the operation of the wire drawing machine, the supply of wire to be reduced in diameter, taken from the stationary supply spool 68, is threaded through the bell mouth 71, through the tube 67, over the pulley 66, through the guide 72, and thence through the aperture 73 in the left hand wall of the housing 15 into the wire drawing compartment 18. The wire is then guided over the rear step of the sheave 49 and through the first reducing die 54 in the die shelf 52. Upon leaving the first die, the wire is wound around the rear step of the inner capstan 39, after which it is passed under and over the next step in the sheave 49, and through the next reducing die and wound around the next step in the capstan 39, etc., until it is passed over the steps in the sheaves 47, 48 and the outer capstan 38 and through all of the dies 54. From the step of largest diameter on the outer capstan 38, the wire is threaded through the final die 77, and then through an aperture 75 in the right hand wall of the wire drawing compartment 18. From that point the wire is wound around the outside capstan 78, after which it is passed upwardly over the pulley 167 on the slide 168 and then downwardly through the guide bushing 116 on the end of the distributing rod 112, through the opening of the spout-like portion 177 of the guard 175 onto the take-up spool 120.

As the diameter of the spooled wire on the take-up spool increases, the tension of the wire passing over the pulley 167 increases due to the increased peripheral speed of the increasing diameter of the take-up, whereby the tension of the wire pulls the slide 168 downwardly to increase the tension of the spring 155 through cable 165, spring 162, and cable 156. This increased upward pull on the left hand end of the T lever 150 exerted through the spring 155 causes the T lever to rock clockwise to spread the brake shoes 147-448 farther apart and thus decrease the braking force to permit the brake drum 145 and shaft 135 to rotate at a faster speed. Since the speed of the gear 141 secured to the shaft 135 is increased therotative speed of the differential gears 138-139 meshing therewith is decreased to decrease the speed of rotation of the gear 140 and the take-up shaft 122. Thus the speed of rotation of the take-up spool 120 is gradually and automatically decreased as required by the increasing diameter of the spooled wire. By clamping the block 174 to the cable 156 and adjusting the hollow screws 157-l58, as hereinbefore described, the effective movement of the slide 168 can be controlled to prevent surging in the speed of the take-up spool 120.

If, due to some condition, such as an irregularity in spooling, it is necessary to increase the speed of the take-up spool, the accompanying decrease in the tension of the wire will permit the pulley 167 and slide 168 to move upwardly resulting in a decreased tension in the spring 155 secured to the left hand end of the T lever 150 This decreased pull of the spring 155 causes the T lever to be rocked counterclockwise by the spring 152 thereby moving the brake shoes 147-148 closer together to exert a greater braking force on the drum 145 to decrease the speed of the shaft 135 and of the gear, 141. To better illustrate the action of the differential, assume that the number of teeth in gears 140 and 141 is the same and the braking force is of sumcient intensity to hold the shaft 135 from turning so that the gear 141 is stationary, then the rotation of the crown gear 137 will roll differential gears 138-139 around on gear 141 with the result that gear 140, vmeshing with the difierential gears, will revolve twice as fast as when gear 141 is revolving with it and at the same speed. Since the take-up spool is connected through the shaft 122 with the gear 140, the speed of the take-up spool is thereby automatically increased.

Thus, the brake and differential mechanism provides for the automatic controlling of the speed of the take-up spool and the uniform tensioning of the wire, the slidable pulley compensates for irregularities in spooling, and the mechanism for rigidly holding the take-up spool permits of the easy removal of a full spool and the rapid insertion of an empty one.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention herein described and illustrated is merely a convenient and useful form of the invention, which is capable of many other modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a strand winding apparatus, means for winding a strand, resilient means responsive to the strand tension for carrying the strand as it travels to the strand winding means, a perforated braking drum, a fan for the drum, a brake, a differential for driving the drum, the fan and the strand winding means, a cable interconnecting the brake and the resilient means and for varying the effectiveness of the brake, adjustable means for limiting the movement of the cable without limiting the movement of the strand carrying means, and means for actuating the differential to drive the strand winding means within predetermined speeds as controlled by the tension of the strand and the adjustable means for limiting the movement of the cable.

2. In a strand winding apparatus, a take-up spool, a slidably mounted rotatable member over which the strand travels to the take-up spool, bufier springs adapted to be engaged by the member, and resilient means for normally retaining the rotatable member in a predetermined position to maintain a surplus of strand under tension to allow for any irregularities in winding the strand on the take-up spool.

3. In a strand winding apparatus, a take-up spool, means for rotating the take-up spool, a slide, a pulley mounted thereon for carrying the traveling strand, a guide rod for the slide, buffer springs mounted at each end of the guide rod, and resilient means connected to the slide for permitting the pulley to vary its position to maintain a uniform tension on the strand.

4. In a strand winding apparatus, a take-up spool, means for distributing the strand on the take-up spool, and a guard for the take-up spool having a spout-like portion for substantially enclosing the distributing means, the spout-like portion having a slot coextensive with the width of the take-up spool for providing an entrance for the strand.

5. In a strand winding apparatus, a strand receiving member, means responsive to the strand and operatively associated with the strand receiving member, a braking mechanism controlled by the strand responsive means, a differential mechanism having a driving connection with the strand receiving member and the braking mechanism, means for interconnecting the braking mechanism with the strand responsive means and for varying the effectiveness of the braking mechanism, means for limiting the movement of the interconnecting means without limiting the movement of the strand responsive means, and means for actuating the difierential mechanism to drive the strand receiving means within predetermined speeds as controlled by the strand responsive means and the means for limiting the movement of the interconnecting means.

6. In a strand winding apparatus, a strand receiving member, means for rotating the strand receiving member, a slide, a rotatable member mounted thereon for carrying the traveling strand and maintaining a uniform tension on the strand, a guide member for the slide, resilient buffer members mounted at each end of the guide member, and resilient means connected to the slide for controlling the movement thereof.

'7. In a strand winding apparatus, a strand receiving member, means rotatable at constant speed for rotating the strand receiving member, a slide, a rotatable member mounted thereon for carrying the traveling strand and maintaining a uniform tension on the strand, a guide member for the slide, resilient buffer members mounted at each end of the guide member, and resilient means connected to the slide for controlling the movement thereof.

8. In a strand winding apparatus, a strand receiving member, means rotatable at constant speed for rotating the strand receiving member, differential means associated with said strand receiving member for imparting variable speeds to the rotation of said strand receiving member, a slide, a rotatable member ounted thereon for carrying the traveling stran and maintaining a uniform tension on the strand, a guide member for the slide, resilient buifer members mounted at each end of the guide member, and resilient means connected to the slide for controlling the differential means.

9. In a strand winding apparatus, a strand receiving member, means rotatable at constant speed for rotating the strand receiving means, differential means associated with said strand receiving means for imparting variable speeds to the rotation of said strand receiving member, a slide, a rotatable member mounted thereon for carrying the traveling strand and maintaining a uniform tension on the strand, a guide member for the slide, resilient buffer members mounted at each end of the guide member, resilient means connected to. the slide for controlling the movement thereof, and means associated with the slide and the differential means for controlling the speed of rotation of said strand receiving member. 10. In a strand winding apparatus, a take-up spool, means for distributing the strand onthe take-up spool spaced from the spool and movable in a. path parallel to the axis thereof, a guard for the take-up spool and distributing means having a partial cylindrical portion enclosing a portion of the take-up spool and a tapered portion secured to the periphery of the first mentioned portion of the guard and enclosing the distributing means and remaining portion of the take-up spool, the tapered portion having an aperture coextensive with the length of the reel and in alignment with the path of the distributing means for admitting the, strand to the take-up spool.

EDWIN ERNEST NEWTON.

HUGH PERCY RAY. ALEXIS ANTOINE MAURER. 

